Drunken Dan
by Ad Astra Per Alia Porci
Summary: COMPLETE! Dan has a bad night and ends up at a bar... Zoe is called to pick him up. R&R please.
1. The Bar

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Ah-ha! I finally remembered to put it!! Now on with the show.

The air was thick and moist from the crowds of people in the bar. As soon as Zoe stepped through the door her noise was assaulted with the unpleasant mixture of sweat, vomit, and alcohol – granted the last one normally didn't bother her, but in this case it wasn't helping much. She waited a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the tavern and then began her search of the room. She walked slowly, her eyes carefully scanning every corner of the place. After a couple of minutes of searching her eyes finally rested on her very handsome, and now very drunk, partner.

Dan was slumped against the bar, his arms folded on the counter and his head resting on top of them to avoid the sticky surface. Originally, Zoe was pissed off that she had received this call at 11:30 on Friday night; after everything else she had to deal with tonight with the kids, now she had to cart Dan's drunken carcass home. But as she stood there, gazing at his sad form, she found her resolve weakening. There was something about him. She just couldn't stay mad at him -- not even when he was only semi-conscious. So as she advanced towards the bar, the angry clicking of her heals softened and her irritated expression gave way to a sympathetic one. She hopped up onto the stool to his left, the direction which he was facing, but he didn't see her because his eyes were closed.

Gently, Zoe reached out her hand and swept his bangs away from his clammy forehead. She then ran her hand through the rest of his hair, enjoying the soft sensation as she lost her fingers at the base of his neck. "Dan," she cooed softly, "Hey sailor, wake up. It's time to go home." He mumbled slightly and opened his eyes. Once his eyes had focused and saw Zoe perched beside him he raised his head groggily. Her hand fell from the back of his head and she let it fall to his back and brought it to his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go," She hopped off her stool and trailed her hand down his arm to his elbow and squeezed it slightly. He slid his feet to the ground and slowly stood up, using the counter for balance. Once he was steady he tried to walk towards the exit but fumbled forward with a slight groan. Luckily Zoe had anticipated this and swooped in before he fell. She ducked under his arm, placing her shoulder under his arm pit and put one hand on his stomach (making a mental note at how surprisingly firm it was) and her other on his upper back to steady him. If nothing else, her years in Vegas had taught her how to deal with intoxicated people. Dan let go of the bar and shifted towards Zoe, with one arm draped around her shoulder and the other hand clutching his forehead in a vain attempt to banish the dull thud that appeared when he stood up. With the majority of his weight resting on Zoe, the two were able to start walking towards the exit.

"So what were you doing here?" Zoe asked softly as they swayed.

"Drinking," he stated solemnly.

"Yes, I can see that," Zoe smiled faintly, "I meant _why_. Why are you drinking?"

"To get drunk," Dan replied simply. Zoe chuckled and dropped the topic.

As they neared the door, one of the bouncers jogged ahead of them to hold it open for them. "Thanks," she grunted as she passed through them to the parking lot. A blast of the cold night air hit them both in the face as the walked through the parking lot towards his car, causing Dan to rouse a little more. His hand rubbed his face roughly trying to clear his head.

"Sorry Zoe," he apologized sadly as they approached his car.

"I know, Dan. Don't worry… you can make it up to me with a week's worth of my paper work," she teased as she pushed his back up against the passenger side of the car gently and pinned him there with one hand while she took a step back to face him. "Dan, where are your keys?"

"Here…" he reached into his jacket pocket and producing the coveted items. He placed them into Zoe's expectant hand. Zoe ignored the rush that she felt when their hands briefly connected and turned her attention to the car door. She tried a couple of keys before she found the correct one and opened up the passenger door. She left the keys dangling in the lock as she returned her attention to the man beside her.

"C'mon. In we go," she instructed as she shifted her position to guide him into his car. She expertly helped him into a sitting position and leaned in to do up his seatbelt. As she bent forward he asked about her own car. "I took a taxi here; I didn't want to leave your car here overnight… I knew you'd have driven your car here because we're much too far away from your apartment and I knew you wouldn't want to pay for a taxi," she explained as she pulled the belt around his body and secured it in place. She glanced at his face, which she was floating only a few inches from, and found him staring at her intently. She quickly stepped back from the car and placed his hands in his lap and padded his knees, "Watch yourself, I'm shutting the door." Once she was sure his limbs were free of the door she shut it and removed the keys from the lock. She strolled over to the driver's side and climbed in.

As the engine roared to life a soft country song filled the car. She smiled softly and glanced over at her partner who was leaning against the cool passenger window with his eyes closed. With a sigh, she pulled out of the parking lot and began the long journey to Dan's apartment, slightly wondering why he ended up so many miles from home… there was a bar just around the corner from his complex.


	2. Silence

Fifty minutes later Zoe parked the car in front of his building and turned off the engine. She sat for a few minutes, just taking in the sight of her sleeping co-worker. He looked so innocent slumped against the glass. His boyish quality really shone through when he was resting, even if his face was missing of his characteristic smirk at the moment. She silently chided herself for allowing her thoughts to drift. She watched him for a few seconds longer and then exited the car.

She walked over to the passenger side door and tapped on the window with her index finger. Dan's eyes fluttered open and he gazed around in confusion before his eyes met Zoe's. His heart jumped and he straightened up in his seat. His reaction wasn't simply because he had temporarily forgotten his current situation; she had just always had that affect on him. Seeing that he had moved his weight away from the door she opened it for him. He made a move to get out but was held back by the seatbelt. Zoe chuckled softly as his face filled with confusion. She bent into the car and unbuckled it for him, mumbling "safety first."

He watched silently as she leaned over him to reach the buckle. His faced flushed from her proximity and his breathing picked up a bit. Zoe noted this and swooped back outside the car before his inebriated state convinced him to do something he normally wouldn't... well, wouldn't do again so soon. She took a step back, holding the door wide open so that he could get out without interference. He swung his legs to the asphalt and stood unsteadily, reaching for the door and the roof of the car for support. Once he was on his feet Zoe stepped closer to him and they resumed their previous position with him leaning on her so he could walk. The pair swayed up to the front door of the building. Zoe swiped the card attached to Dan's keychain in front of a scanner and struggled to open the door and keep Dan standing up right as they made their way through it.

In the elevator Zoe was tired and let Dan slump to the carpet for the ride up to his floor. "Zoe…" he moaned, grabbing her attention, "I don't feel so good." He looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. She chuckled softly.

"If you're looking for coddling, you're barking up the wrong tree my friend. No sympathy for self-inflicted harm – it's one of my rules." Dan dropped his gaze to the floor and clutched his stomach groaning subtly. Zoe couldn't help herself, "Okay," she dropped to her knees on the floor in front of him, "maybe a little coddling." She reached out her hand and swept his bangs to the side and sat back on her heals. "Don't worry; I'm sure you won't feel so queasy after we get off the elevator." A minute later a tone sounded to signal that they had reached his floor.

Zoe grabbed his left hand with hers and spun so that she was at his side with his arm around her shoulders. She snaked her other arm around Dan's waist. "On the count of three," she got into a position to help him get off of the floor, "One… Two… Three." Zoe grunted with effort as she pulled Dan up. They stumbled out of the elevator together and staggered a few additional feet to his door.

"Please hurry," Dan pleaded as they reached his door, one hand covering his eyes.

"Just hang on one more minute," Zoe mumbled as she left his arm around her and fished in her pockets for his keys again. Once in hand, she began trying random keys until his apartment door clicked open. Leaving her shoes on and the front door wide open, she quickly led him through his (amazingly clean) bachelor pad to his room and sat him down on his perfectly made bed. "I'll be right back." Zoe strode back to the front door to shut and lock it and kicked off her shoes, now feeling guilty, as if she was messing up his floors. Then she made her way to his bathroom, searching beneath the sink for a sizable bucket. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. She was pleasantly surprised to see how tidy and organized he was.

By the time Zoe returned to Dan's room, bucket in hand, Dan had already sprawled out on his bed. She smiled to herself and approached the bed. She placed the bucket beside his legs and sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes. Dan opened his eyes as he felt her pull one of his feet onto her lap and began to untie his shoes. "You don't hafta do that," he spoke lazily.

"Shh… it's fine. You shouldn't mess up you bed."

"Thanks," he smiled lightly.

"Just don't get used to this treatment," she teased.

After untying and removing his first shoe, Zoe tossed it on the floor and then grabbed his other foot, doing the same. She gently pushed his foot off of his lap and stood to collect the shoes and take them to the front door. As Zoe bent down to gather his shoes Dan lurched up in his bed and whimpered her name. One look at his sallow face told Zoe what he needed. She dropped the shoes again and lunged at the bucket sitting by his feet. Zoe managed to thrust in under his head seconds before he threw up what appeared to be the entire contents of the bar he had been at. Dan grabbed the bucket from Zoe and held it himself while he continued to empty his stomach. All the while, Zoe stood beside him whispering encouraging words and rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm going to go and get you some bread and water. We can try and prevent a hang over… and maybe do some damage control for that vomit breath," She teased when he seemed to be finished. She walked to his kitchen and grabbed the items that she had promised and a face cloth, which she dampened before returning to his room. While she was gone Dan scrambled into a sitting position at the head of his bed, keeping the smelly bucket as far away as he could while still keeping within reaching distance should he feel nauseous again.

Zoe entered the room with the items and walked over to the bed. She placed the glass of water and bread on his nightstand and sat facing him. She reached over with the damp cloth and dabbed off the perspiration which had settled on his brow and brushed his hair aside once more – this time it wasn't in the way, she just wanted to run her fingers through his hair again. Dan shut his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her touch. Zoe slowly moved the cloth around his face to sooth him and finally wiped his mouth to remove any evidence of his drinks. When she was finished she reached beside her and grabbed the bread and water, giving the cloth their spot. As she watched Dan eat his bread and sip the water she scooted around to sit beside him on the bed, in the same sitting position as him, leaning against the head board.

When he had finished his bread and appeared done with his drink Zoe reached over and took the glass from his hand and placed it beside the cloth. "You're good at this," he faintly smiled and tilted his head back against the headboard.

"Well, you know, I do have three kids now… and in Vegas I nursed my fair share of drunks…" she looked over at him. He lolled his head to the side to look at her.

"I am not a drunk," he said indignantly.

"I wasn't talking about you," she was amused at his offence, "I was talking about people I knew when I was in Vegas."

"Oh. But for the record, I am not drunk."

"Oh no?" she chuckled softly.

"No. I am…" Dan looked thoughtful, "tipsy."

"You're smashed."

"Buzzed."

"Tanked."

"I'm… out of terms." Dan conceded unhappily.

"Good. I win. Just for the record I can think of four more terms," she smirked over at him, "But I'm proud of you, most inebriated people couldn't have thought up any synonyms. Oh! Oh! Five! I have five!"

"I'm not drunk," Dan pouted.

"You admitted you were earlier," Zoe openly laughed at him.

"When?"

"At the bar. I asked why you were there and you said, and I quote, 'to get drunk.'"

"That was my _goal_,"

"So you still say you're not drunk?" Dan nodded slowly (if he moved to quickly he got dizzy, but he hoped she wouldn't notice). "I took you home, Dan. You couldn't even stand up on your own."

"Okay, maybe I'm a little bit … un-sober." Dan held his index finger an inch above his thumb for emphasis. He slumped down in his bed and rested his head on a pillow, closing his eyes.

"So, why were you at that bar?" She was still curious why he went to one that was almost an hour away.

"I had a date," he replied quietly.

"At a bar? That's where you meet people, not where you take them for dates," Zoe's voice took on an authoritative tone as she attempted to lecture Dan.

"At a restaurant down the street."

"Oh. So I guess it didn't go well?" she laughed nervously.

"Guess not," he replied glumly.

"Did she leave early?" Zoe was careful with her wording.

"No – I did." Dan said it softly enough, but there was some bitterness in his voice.

"Oh." Zoe chewed on that for a minute, trying to think up an appropriate response. When Zoe didn't say anything else, Dan continued some more.

"She was smart and funny and successful…" his brows furrowed as he tried to remember the woman from dinner, "And beautiful! My God was she ever pretty." His voice was wistful and full of regret.

"Did she not seem interested in you? Because, Dan, if she can't see how great you are--" Zoe started but Dan cut her off quickly.

"She liked me fine!" Dan snapped angrily as his eyes sprung open. He looked pointedly at Zoe, "Most women find me charming…" and he softened his voice, "that's not why I left." He lowered his gaze to study the bed sheets beneath his body.

Zoe hesitated for a moment before her curiosity took over, "Then why did you?"

"Because… Stephanie – that's her name – as great as she was… she wasn't what I wanted… I didn't want to be there with _her_… she wasn't…" Dan glanced up at Zoe and spoke in a barely audible whisper, "she wasn't you." Zoe didn't know what to say, and Dan didn't think there was anything left to say on his part so they both remained silent carefully watching each other and considering the words just spoken aloud.


	3. Apologies

Seven minutes later, quite possibly the longest seven minutes in all of history, Dan couldn't take the tension anymore. Zoe was known for her rambling but he had never heard her say more than she had in the past moment of silent staring. Dan nodded his head, slowly and sadly, and slunk down lower in his bed. He rested his head back on the pillow and he closed his eyes.

Zoe just sat there confused. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Should she say something? Should she just leave? The latter option sounded more comfortable to her at the moment, but she knew that it would just make for an awkward encounter the next day at work. So she sat there, undecided, studying his face. Zoe hated seeing his handsome face clouded with sadness, especially when she knew she had caused it. He didn't deserve it. Zoe thought about all the times that she had counted on him and he had come through for her. She had never trusted anyone as much as she trusted Dan, because she knew that he would do anything for her and her family.

Of course the opposite was true as well. Zoe would do anything for Dan; he had come to mean the world to her over the past two years. She slowly started counting all the things that she adored about her partner. _'He's trustworthy, smart, sweet, funny, kind, loyal, witty, confident, reliable… not to mention he's easy on the eyes. He's so supportive, he always follows my crazy hunches no matter how stupid or irrelevant they seem. He always knows what to say and how to act; when I'm sad he hugs me, when I'm angry he calms me down. He opens doors for me, he pulls out my chair, he brings me coffee all the time. And best of all, he understands me. He knows everything about me and he wants me despite it all…He's my partner, my best friend, and the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't know what I would do without him. He means too much to me…'_ As the last thought passed through her mind, she lost control of her body. Her hands reached out, uninstructed and cupped Dan's face. She caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. Dan kept his eyes shut; he was afraid that if he opened them that he'd discover it was just a dream. So he blindly lifted one of his hands up to carefully grip her wrist and slowly began running his hand up and down her forearm softly. Unable to fight the urge any longer she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his in a soft lingering kiss.

Dan couldn't believe it. He was kissing Zoe Busiek, and although he had done this before, this as the first time that she had initiated it. He didn't move his body and he ignored the urge to pull her closer and deepen the kiss because he was scared that it would make her pull away. _'Of all the days to drink myself sick…'_ a tiny voice in his head grumbled as he forced him mouth to stay closed.As far as he was concerned she could be the ring leader, just as long as they stayed like this. So Dan just remained still and enjoyed the tingling sensation that was spreading through his body.

Zoe slowly began to pull away as she realized what she had done. In one brief, honest moment she had gone against everything that she had been fighting so hard to prevent for the last two years. _'I can't do this,'_ she felt a tear slip down her cheek as their lips separated, _'I work with him. I can't get involved with him.'_ Her face backed away from his slightly but she was still hovering over him with her hands on either side of his face. Dan was embarrassed at the whimper that escaped his mouth at the sudden cold air that replaced Zoe's warm mouth. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking away the drowsiness he had felt a few minutes ago, and waited for Zoe's face to come into focus. The first thing that he noticed was the tear running down her left cheek. Keeping his left hand on her arm, he raised his right hand to her face and tentatively wiped away the tear and its path.

"I'm sorry, Dan," she whispered and tried to pull away as she felt another tear roll down her face.

"Don't be. I'm not," he said back, holding her arm firmly so that she couldn't get any farther away, "I'm just sorry that I didn't brush my teeth first." Dan flashed Zoe his most charming smile, hoping it would help win her over.

Despite her best efforts Zoe felt a smile cross her face and she let out a pathetic laugh. _'He always knows what to say…'_ Dan moved his hand against her cheek and cupped the side of her face lovingly. _'…and what to do…' _ She momentarily shut her eyes and leaned into his touch but quickly recovered herself and pulled away, this time Dan released her arms to let her. _'He's drunk,'_ Zoe chided herself silently, _'I shouldn't have done this at all, let alone when he's drunk.'_ Although to be perfectly honest, Zoe was feeling somewhat intoxicated at the moment as well, but not from alcohol.

"I… I have to go," she murmured between sniffles.

"No, Zoe, please!" Dan's voice came out small with the pathetic plea.

"You need to get some sleep… and I need to… leave…" she trailed off quietly at the end and stood and began to back away.

"Wait!" Dan moaned as he sat up in bed and extended an arm towards her, "We need to talk… about… us." He fumbled over his words as Zoe shook her head at the word talk.

"It was a mistake. I'm sorry. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow," Zoe turned, flicked off the lights, and ran from the room. Dan slumped down in his bed again and threw an arm lazily over his eyes. He cursed in the empty room as he heard his front door close and lock; tomorrow was going to be a **long** day.


	4. Game's Over

Dan nervously cleared his throat as he waited for the ringing to stop and for Zoe to pick up the other end of phone. He had been rehearsing all morning about what he should say to her when he first saw her… and he still didn't know. He had used up every reason he could think of to postpone going to pick her up this morning so that he would have more time to figure it out. He needed to have some plan before he talked to her, he needed something witty to say, he needed to be smooth and debonair to win her over. When he finally glanced the time a minute ago he groaned, realizing he was supposed to be there now and he had yet to leave. He would have to phone ahead to reassure her that he was on his way. _'Great start Danny boy,'_ he thought bitterly,_ 'Win the lady over with your punctuality.'_

"Zoe." The familiar bubbly voice floated into his ears and scattered his thoughts.

"Hey, it's me. I'm just calling to say that I'm already on the road and I will be there within minutes so don--"

"Oh, you don't have to pick me up," Zoe cut him off, her voice audibly hardening, "I'm already at work."

"What?" Dan was dumbfounded, "Why?"

"Because I needed to get to work early. You know catch up on some paper work, do some filing…" she said vaguely. She had really been sitting there at her desk replaying the events of last night and trying to figure out how to avoid him today.

"And you didn't think to call me?" he asked with mock sweetness as he headed into the elevator to go to the parking lot.

"No, Dan. I didn't," Zoe said coldly, "We just **work** together. I don't need to report to you where I am every second of the day." The tone in her voice conveyed a level of disgust, as if he was stalking her instead of offering her the usual morning ride to work. The emphasis on their relationship being purely business relate especially stung Dan. He felt like he had been in the gut and reacted harshly.

"No, you don't. It just would have been nice to let me -- the partner who goes out of his way to pick you up for work **every morning -- **know that you didn't need a ride today." Dan spat angrily as he reached his car. "I thought it would have been a **professional** courtesy," he drew out the word professional to let her know that he knew what she was doing, "but hey, maybe that's just me." He snapped his phone shut as he opened the car door, tossed the phone onto the seat that Zoe would have normally occupied at this time and climbed in. He angrily pounded on the edge of the steering wheel for a minute as his eyes began to water and his throat went dry. "God damnit!" he shouted as he stilled his hands on the steering wheel and resting his forehead on top. He bit back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "Damn it," he repeated, but this time in a whispered, pathetic voice. He sat in his car for a few minutes waiting to get control of himself.

Once he felt that he had his emotions in check he started up the car and pulled out of the lot towards the office. It was only a fifteen minute drive from his house, and since he didn't have to pick up Zoe he would still manage to be early. So he stopped and bought himself a coffee along the way. It was all he could do not to order her one as well. As he pulled into the parking lot he felt his emotions begin to rise again. _'How can she just keep doing this to me? Why do I let her?'_ he couldn't tell exactly what he was feeling at the moment. He had a good mix inside him: sadness, anger, disappointment, betrayal, confusion… the list went on. Worse still, he knew that it would only get worse from this point on. _'I'm going to walk in there and she's going to pretend that I don't exist. She's only going to talk to me when it's absolutely necessary for the sake of her career. She'll avoid me like the plague for at least three days, until she's able to push last night completely out of her mind… like she always does,' _he finished pathetically. And despite himself, he actually felt bad that he had snapped at her. He was hurt and angry and stupid, and he wanted nothing more than to go straight into her office and apologize to her. _'Like I always do,'_ he sighed audibly.

But as he strolled into the building and got into the elevator a new thought occurred to him. _'I can't keep doing this; I can't keep crawling back to her. I always lose but I keep playing this game. I'm addicted because I know that every time, as long as I follow her rules, we'll get over the awkwardness in a couple of days and begin the stupid game all over again. And each time, I become more invested. Each time I find myself thinking "Maybe this time I'll win, maybe she'll really see me." But each time she remains deliberately blind and I end up getting hurt. Each time. It's getting to hard to get back up after each loss… I won't play by her rules anymore. I can't,'_ the elevator opened and he walked out on to the floor. Zoe was a few feet away, talking to one of their co-workers, and when she noticed him she quickly excused herself to her office and shut the door without so much as nod of acknowledgement.

It took a lot of effort to hold up his head and straighten his shoulders (which had fallen when he saw Zoe's reaction) as he strode towards his own office. _'I won't play this game anymore. If I don't stop this now, it'll be too late. So I'm done; I quit. Let her find someone else to play with.' _ And with that thought he turned on his computer to get to work.


	5. The Deal Breaker

Four days later, the pair still had yet to be in a room alone together. Obviously, as partners, they couldn't avoid each other completely, but they were able to minimize face time and make sure that it was in the presence of others. In the office the only time they were seen together was during briefings with M, and outside of the office they were only together to do interviews. They had even managed to avoid driving together; Zoe had said something about it being unfair to drag Dan along for her family-related errands and take him away from work and so M had provided her with a company car. Dan and Zoe discussed the case information over the phone on the rides back to the office after interviews or using messengers to relay messages around the office, but only when necessary to keep up-to-date with the others findings. They spoke briefly and civilly each time and strictly about business. The kiss had not been mentioned since Zoe had fled his apartment that night.

Zoe was sitting in her office and feeling pretty proud of herself for having avoided the awkward encounter for this long; she thought that she had won. _'Well, he hasn't mentioned what happened, so either Dan was too drunk to remember the kiss…but if that were true he wouldn't be letting me avoid him, he'd be following me around the office,' _Zoe reasoned, _'He probably just knows that it was a big mistake and this is his way of giving me space until we can forget it ever happened.'_ She frowned slightly as she looked towards the shut blinds that were dividing their office. _'Still, we've done this sort of thing before, and it's never taken this long for him to apologize…so what makes this different from the other times he's kissed me? Well he was drunk, we were in an empty house and not a public area, both of those new situations…'_ Zoe absently drummed her fingers on the desk as she tried to figure out what was taking so long.

"Oh my God!" Zoe spoke aloud to her empty office. _'Wow, am I stupid!' _she chided herself as she finally figured out what the deal breaker was, _'I kissed him! So he thinks that I'm supposed to apologize…'_ Zoe's face registered shock, _'He's waiting for me to apologize?! It's not my fault it happened! It was him and his stupid "she wasn't you" comment that did it! If he didn't sound so sincere and hopeless it wouldn't have happened! I took pity on him! If he wasn't so sad and charming and sexy… what? He was not sexy!'_ Zoe took a deep breath and reminded herself that Dan was her colleague. _'He was not sexy, he was drunk… he was sexy yesterday when he was sober…' _ her thoughts drifted to dangerous territory. "Wow, it's a good thing I'm not arguing this to anyone else. I'm just trying to convince myself and even I don't think I have a point," she muttered as she rested her head in her hands. _'Whatever; the fact that he is mildly handsome with an endearing smile is irrelevant! I may have physically initiated that particular lip-lock, but he started it verbally! Plus, now we're even. We've initiated two kisses each now: one for the job and one for pleasure… If he thinks I'm going to apologize he's got another thing coming!'_ she decided firmly.

The only sound in the office was Zoe's drumming on the desk and a whirling from the computer in front of her. She sat there, mute, watching the blinds between their office as she indulged herself and allowed her memory to recall the event that had sent her world into a tizzy. She couldn't deny how good it felt; she and Dan had unbelievable chemistry. _But_ she works with him, and that means that he's off-limits. _'Which is totally fine… I don't need him, there are plenty of guys out there lining up for a chance with me.'_ she snorted out loud. _'And it ain't bragging' if you can back it up!'_ she reminded herself. She turned back to face her computer and tried to focus on the report that was open on the screen but her mind kept wandering to the sandy-haired man a few feet away. "This is ridiculous!" she scolded as she got up from her seat and began towards her door. _'Fine! I'll talk to him… NOT apologize… but just talk to him, so that we can get over this quicker,'_ then she added as a second thought, _'Purely for working purposes, of course. I mean, separate cars? Gas isn't cheap!'_

Zoe strode purposefully to his door, knocked three times on the thick wood, and tried the knob. It was locked. Had they been speaking, Zoe would have known that Dan had a lunch date today. With Stephanie.


	6. Lunch Date

"Sorry, excuse me for a minute," Dan spoke politely as he left the table to answer his cell phone. "Lennox."

"Hey," Zoe replied genially. Dan waited for her to continue. "It's Zoe," she said dumbly when she didn't get a response from the other line.

"I know who it is," Dan kept his voice cool, "Caller ID."

"Right. So, um, I just went to your office… you're not there…"

"Whoa!" he feigned an astonished voice at her obvious revelation, "This isn't my office? Then where am I?"

"Funny, I was going to ask the same question."

"I'm out to lunch. Why?"

"Wha- Well, I-" Zoe stumbled over her words. "I think we should talk."

"New lead?" he asked puzzled. As far as he knew, they had closed the latest case and only had to do the paperwork.

"No. Uh, not about the case…" she trailed of uncertainly.

"Oh," he frowned. _'Why is she doing this now?'_

"Yeah. So, where are you? I'll meet you there," her voice adopted a down-to-business tone.

"You can't," he replied quickly.

"Why? I thought you were just eating lunch…"

"I am. With someone," he tried to make his voice convey that he didn't care what she thought about this, but some of his anxiety still managed to break to the surface.

"Client?" she tried to ignore the unease in his voice that suggested otherwise.

"No," he confirmed her fears.

"Oh," she whispered as she stumbled over to sit on a nearby desk; her legs suddenly lost the ability to support her.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So, I'll, eh, I'll head back to the office a bit early and we can, um, talk about… whatever it is that you wanted to… okay?"

"Sure," she responded absently. Some of her disappointment crept into her voice.

"Alright… bye," he responded sadly as he clicked the phone shut. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before heading back to Stephanie.

"Is everything okay?" Stephanie asked as Dan moped towards her.

"Hmm? Oh, yea. Yes. My work…" he replied as a half-hearted explanation.

"Ah," she gave a sympathetic smile as he reclaimed his seat, "The boss?"

"Nope. Just my partner," his voice was devoid of emotion but the frown that flickered across his face at 'just my partner' more than made up for the lack of audible clues. She reached across the table and rested her hand on top of his.

"Are you sure everything's fine?" she asked concerned.

Dan glanced down at their hands and watched for a moment as her thumb softly stroked the back of his hand. He looked back up into her sparkling green eyes. "Positive. She was just calling to see where I had disappeared to." He smiled at the beautiful woman across from him and pulled her hand up to his mouth to place a soft kiss on it. "Nothing important," he dismissed Zoe's reason for calling and turned his attention back to Stephanie. After agreeing to go out with him again, she deserved no less. He wasn't going to let thoughts of Zoe ruin any more of his dates. Ever.


	7. We're Good

"Zoe?" A voice floated towards her following three quick rasps on the open door frame. Zoe snapped to attention and whirled in her chair to face the door. She was surprised to see Dan standing there.

"Hey, come on in," she said when she noticed him lingering outside the office. "What are you doing back so soon?" She felt a sense of relief wash over her. She told herself that she was simply relieved that he was here so that they could talk things out and get back to normal, but the more honest part of herself knew that she was hoping the date had been a flop. _'If it even was a date. He didn't technically say it was…'_

Dan looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face and consulted his watch. "Zoe, it's been forty-five minutes since you phoned. We're only allowed an hour lunch and you said you wanted to talk… right?"

She hit the mouse on her desk with the back of her hand to wake the computer from its sleeping mode. Just as Dan said, the bottom right-hand corner of the screen confirmed that they hadn't spoken for ¾ of an hour. "Yeah. I do," was her simple response. He took the seat in front of her and waited for her to speak. When he was met with silence he smiled and raised his hands imploring her to continue. "Right." Zoe laughed nervously, "I'm sorry for interrupting your lunch with… uh…" she paused momentarily for him to fill in the blank but he didn't supply a name. "Right. Sorry for interrupting," she repeated.

"No big deal," he generously replied, waving his hand through the air.

"So, um, I just wanted to make sure that everything between us is, uh, okay." Zoe gestured between the two of them and then folded her hands in front of her on the desk, hoping that if she appeared mature and calm then she'd become it.

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" he decided that if she wanted to talk about it then she could bring it up, other wise he was more than happy to forget that the kiss had ever happened. It would certainly make it a lot easier to get over her if could ignore that kiss and everything he had felt along with it.

Dan's response caught her off-guard. She had expected him to skirt around the issue of the kiss, he had done that the last time she had confronted him about the stunt in the elevator… What she didn't expect was for him to pretend that everything was fine. Normally, he would just bring up the subject of the awkwardness without directly stating the cause of it. "Oh… so, uh, you're not… angry? At me? Or, um, anything?" she stuttered doubtfully.

"No," he spoke as if the notion was ridiculous, "Why would you think that?"

"I thought that m-maybe that you were, uh, avoiding me…"

"Oh, well, I was sort of avoiding you," he admitted, "The way that you were acting kind of suggested that you wanted the space… but as far as I'm concerned, there's no problem."

"I wasn't avoiding you." Zoe replied quickly. She was now feeling very stupid for starting the conversation.

"You weren't?" he furrowed his brows together.

"No. Um, I thought that you were mad at me…" she excused lamely.

"Oh, so it's all just a big misunderstanding."

"So we're good?"

"Yup." Dan nodded his head in an effort to convince himself more than Zoe.

"You're not mad. Or avoiding me?" she wanted to clarify.

"Nope," his answers were becoming easier to answer. Once he had thrown out the line that there was nothing the matter, everything else seemed to shift in his favour. Suddenly it was Zoe who was put in the awkward situation. Had Dan not been trying so hard to prevent himself from becoming too interested in her responses and excuses, he would probably have been enjoying himself immensely at this point.

"Okay, then."

"That everything?" he glanced at his watch and started to stand up.

"I guess so," Zoe attempted to smile at him but fell short. She was confused. He should be taking this harder. He's supposed to be coming after her…

"Alright, I'll be in my office if you need me," he offered as a farewell and then turned and left her office without another glance back.


	8. Dan's Plan

As soon as Dan entered his office he shut the door and leaned back against it letting a long weary breath. After he had steadied himself he walked over to his desk and plopped down onto his chair. He rested his elbows in front of his keyboard and leaned forward to cradle his face with his hands. _'I'm so pathetic,'_ he thought sadly. Talking to Zoe as if the kiss hadn't affected him was the hardest performance of his life... and he used to be a con artist. But apparently he was a lot more convincing than he felt because Zoe had bought it hook, line, and sinker. _'I deserve an Oscar_._'_

Dan rubbed his face roughly and pushed himself to work on a case; thinking about his partner would only make him want to go and fess up. _'I can't do that. I already started the nonchalant routine, I can't change tactics now.'_ After getting Zoe's phone call at the restaurant he had been effectively distracted for the rest of the meal. It took him the entire forty-five minutes between the call and actually seeing her to decide that the quickest and least painful way to get over her was to play pretend. After all, he had built two careers - undercover insurance agent and art thief extraordinaire - by playing roles so this should be nothing. "Easier said than done," he grumbled at his own stupidity. However he still felt this was the best road to recovery. If he acknowledged how much that minute in his room had affected him it would make it real. If they talked about it and he found out why she kissed him, if it had anything at all to do with underlying feelings, he'd get his hopes up once again and would be likely to wait forever.

So Dan's plan was very simple: treat her like a co-worker until that was all she was. He would still be civil and friendly, but would distance himself. He wouldn't spend time with her outside of work. That part was going to be especially hard for him because he had become very attached to the kids lately. He didn't know exactly when he had decided that they had become more than just Zoe's family and more like an extension of his own, but the feeling had been there for months already. _'Maybe she'll need me to baby-sit them or pick them up on the way back from an interview or something… co-workers can do that right?'_ he pondered. He hoped he could find some way to see them, especially Hannah, otherwise he knew he'd give in just so that he could hang out with them. He shook his head begrudgingly, _'I let this go too far; I shouldn't have become so involved…'_ He groaned and with some effort turned his attention to the computer in front of him and resumed the report he had been working on before his lunch date.

Dan had only needed to finish off the final quarter of the report but it took him slightly more than an hour to complete it with his distracted mind. He saved the document, printed it out and added it to the case file on the edge of his desk and then gave into the urge to check in on Zoe. He slowly walked up to her closed door and took a calming breath before knocking. "Come in," her voice floated out from behind the heavy door. Dan plastered a smile on his face, sauntered into her office and casually dropped down into the chair in front of her desk. "What's up?" she asked him as she quickly closed the multiple internet windows displaying her psychic readings and horoscopes.

"Nothing. Just finished with my paper work and well, I'm bored. Thought I'd check in with you and see if you needed anything or if there was a new lead to pursue or something… anything?" his voice remained hopeful.

"Well there's still some paperwo-" Zoe caught sight of Dan's disgusted face, "Okay. We could go and interview George McGreggor again?"

"Perfect." Dan got out of his seat and bounded out the door to his office to grab his jacket. He went straight to the elevator, instead of returning to Zoe's office, and held the elevator until she had joined him. "So what's the new lead?"

"No new lead. We're sort of at a dead end; I just thought we could give Georgey-boy another go because I don't think he was telling us everything that he knew…" Dan reached over to hit the Lobby button on the control panel. He was very careful not to make contact with her. Normally he would purposefully brush up against her and take a step forward so he could stand right beside her and be in constant contact, but this time he made no such move. .He merely reached around her to punch the correct floor.

"What makes you say that?" he smirked knowing that some sort of Zoe-ism was about to come his way in a second. He took a few steps away from her to lean against the railing in the back of the elevator. Zoe noticed his distance but didn't say anything.

"He drawled the 'o' sound in Portia…" she walked over and mirrored his stance.

"What?" he looked down at her quizzically.

"You know: 'Poorrr-sha'." Zoe mimicked George's pronunciation. "He practically purred it."

"So because he likes to elongate syllables he's a liar?" Dan tried to clarify.

"No," she looked at him as if he had just asked what the sum of two plus two was. "I didn't call him a liar. I said he was holding back on some information… which I know because he adopted a loving tone when he said her name. I think he's in love with Portia and he's trying to protect her."

"Yeah, alright," he replied in a bored tone.

"'Yeah, alright?'" Zoe repeated. "You agree with me? I don't think this has ever happened before…" she trailed off as she scanned her mind for memories.

"Well, I don't really understand so I thought I'd save some time and just agree. I really want to get out of this office, its so nice outside. You could have told me that his haircut deemed him untrustworthy and I'd still say it was grounds for another meeting." The elevator arrived at the lobby and the pair stepped off and walked out into the parking lot towards Dan's car. There was enough room between the pair to fit M.

"It's not as fun when I don't have to try to win you over…" It was only after the words were hanging in the air that she saw a double meaning in the words. Dan caught it too but decided to ignore the flirty comeback about playing hard-too-get that had popped in his head. He merely walked over to the passenger side of the car. He unlocked and opened the door for Zoe, a custom that had been installed by his mother at an early age, but there was something different about the way that he did it this time. He opened the door so that it was between them. _'He normally stands beside it to create another opportunity for contact as I squeeze past him to get in, or he guides me into the seat with his hand on the small of my back…' _As that thought passed through her head she realized that he had also refrained from guiding her through the exit doors of the building like he normally does. She frowned slightly as he shut the door without having been within two feet of her.


	9. School Squabble

"Well, that was a good waste of an hour…" Dan commented lightly as the pair strolled back to his car.

"I warned you that there wasn't anything new to run with. I just thought we'd try again to see if his story changed of if would let anything slip," Zoe's tone was defensive.

Dan chuckled as he once again opened the passenger-side door and let it divide their bodies. "Relax, Zoe. I wasn't complaining. I said it was a 'good waste', didn't I? I'm just glad to be out of the office… I've done way too much paperwork lately." He made sure that her limbs were safely out of the way, shut the door, and continued to his own side of the vehicle.

Zoe though over his last statement and realized that while they were avoiding each other they had spent much more time in their separate offices. It seems that without their normal verbal ping-pong about testimonials and circumstances they had closed cases a lot sooner. She briefly wondered if their personal life had helped someone commit fraud. As Dan started the car he noticed the frown that had appeared on her face. "What?" he queried as he pulled into traffic.

"Hmm?" Zoe snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, I was just realizing how much paperwork I did this week... I even caught up on all the work that I had let backlog." She decided not to voice her momentary lapse in confidence. _'I was distracted this week, but I was still careful with investigations. We did deny the last claim,'_ she reasoned internally.

"So then you've got nothing pending at the office? No immediate need to return?" Dan asked as he glanced at the time. He had the smirk on his face that meant that he was planning something.

"Not a thing," Zoe smiled in anticipation. _'He's probably going to suggest getting ice-cream or going for a walk,'_ she let her mind play semi-romantic scenarios. She combined the two ideas and pictured Dan and her strolling down a dirt path in a lush park surrounded with colourful trees, each holding an ice-cream cone in one hand and their free hands entwined and swinging happily between them. _'Whoa. Where'd this come from?'_ Zoe wondered. _'Stop that!'_ she commanded her imagination, _'Focus!'_

"Maybe we could pick up Hannah and Cliff from school then," he forced his eyes to stay on the road rather than on the radiant smile that had taken up residence on her face. It was a good thing he wasn't watching her or he would have seen the smile falter as she registered his words.

"Umm, yeah sure. We could pick them up… just let me give Taylor a call to let her know that she doesn't have to get them." Zoe looked over at him surprised. That was the last suggestion she had expected. Yet as she pulled out her cell phone she was even more shocked to see his grin widen out of the corner of her eye.

"Great!" he returned enthusiastically as he headed in the direction of the school.

Ten minutes of idle chatting and a phone call later, Dan pulled up in front of their school. He killed the engine and turned to face Zoe. "Let's wait outside so they'll see us." He waited for her nod of approval and then undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the car.

Dan strolled over to a planter a few feet away from the main entrance of the school and sat down leaving the soles of his shoes hovering an inch off the brick below. Zoe followed him over at a much slower pace; her body was suddenly feeling bogged down by her confusing thoughts. She absently walked right up to Dan and took a seat directly beside him so that their legs and shoulders were pressed against each other's. Dan was made immediately aware of this intimate contact and felt a cool shiver slide along his spine. _'She has to be doing this on purpose,'_ Dan shut his eyes and took a deep, silent breath to calm himself down. _'I'm so pathetic! The smallest touch and I lose my cool!'_ He shook his head self-deprecatingly. He quickly fished for a way to break the touch without being insulting.

He glanced down at the cement ledge he was perched on and noticed wads of gum stuck all over it. A small smile crept over his face as he launched himself off the planter and away from Zoe's body with a plausible excuse; he needed to make sure that he hadn't sat in gum. He immediately got into the role and tugged at his pants and twisted his body to 'check' that his slacks were clean. Zoe watched with an amused expression donning her face. "What are you doing?" she finally voiced as he turned in a full circle while pulling the seat of his pants away from his body in an attempt to confirm that his butt was gum-free.

"Checking for bubble-gum," he managed to grumble and keep his smile at bay as she responded with an understanding 'ahh'. Figuring that he had made almost enough of a show, he strolled back towards the planter and made a fuss of expecting the cement ledge before he sat down just within an arm's reach of her. Zoe's amused expression vanished as she noticed his preferred distance from her. They sat in silence for a moment while Dan was trying to find something to talk about that wasn't considered personal, or anything that regular co-workers would talk about. Zoe was still stinging a little from his shift away from her and chose to remain mute for fear of driving him farther still.

"So how was your weekend?" Dan finally spoke up nervously. It was generic enough to pass for water-cooler talk.

"You know, same old stuff. Took Cliff to his game, went shopping with the girls, and made brownies with Hannah for the bake-sale they had yesterday…" she replied in a distant voice with her eyes on the school doors. She glanced quickly over at Dan, "Yours?"

"Nothing special. I stayed home all Saturday…" _'…sleeping off a hangover and mulling over the highlights of Friday'_ he added to himself. "And Sunday I went grocery shopping in the morning and then went out and got a new entertainment centre for my family room, which took the rest of the day to assemble. Life. Is. Good." He concluded with a sardonic tone. Zoe nodded her head morosely then returned her stare to the building before them letting out a long sigh. _'Way to liven up the conversation,'_ Dan chastised silently.

After another long, awkward silence, and several minutes of internal debate, Zoe finally voiced the question that had been nagging her since noon. "So…" she let her voice trail as Dan switched his gaze from his shoes to his partner. "How was, uh, your lunch date?" She hoped he would correct the last word.

"Uh, good," his answer sounded like more of a question than a statement so he repeated himself a little more firmly and with a slight nod. "Good."

"Oh," she felt some sadness that 'date' had seemed to be the appropriate term for their meeting, "Who did you say you were with?"

"I didn't," he averted his eyes back to his shoes and hoped she would take the hint to stop asking about it.

"Right," she whispered. They lapsed into another unsettling hush. Dan was thankful but Zoe couldn't stand it. It was the combination of her desire to fill the lull in conversation and her curiosity that motivated her to push further despite her better judgement. "So, who were you with?"

He was surprised when she suddenly spoke up again. "Why?" he asked quickly as he once again shifted his attention towards her.

"Curiosity?" she offered lamely with a shrug.

"Watch out, that stuff killed the cat," he attempted to sidetrack her. Dan placed his palms on either side of his body at the edge of the cement ledge around the planter and leaned forwards for more support and so that his shoulder offered another obstacle to hide the grimace forming on his face.

"Yes, but the answer brought him back." Zoe wouldn't be distracted.

"I've never heard that response before…" he tried again with a small smile.

"Who'd you have lunch with?" and failed again.

"IShIt doesn't matter." Dan floundered. He once more found solace in his footwear. Zoe turned her body completely towards him and studied him carefully. He watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"It sure doesn't sound that way," she accused.

"Oh yeah?" he was quickly forgetting his discomfort with the situation and becoming annoyed with her interrogation.

"Yeah. You're being all mysterious."

"Only 'cause it's none of your business," Dan snapped. _'So much for civility.'_

"Sorry! I was just trying to make conversation!" she became defensive.

"You were not! You were prying!" it was Dan's turn to make an accusation.

"You can't pry when there's nothing to pry into and you said that the lunch didn't mean anything! Argo, it's nothing!" she couldn't restrain her smile that time.

"Yeah! The lunch was nothing! But Steph, the girl, is **something**! In fact, we have another date tomorrow night!" As soon as he yelled it he regretted it. He watched the emotions clearly march across her face. First, there was confusion as she tried to remember where she had heard the name and then victory when she placed it to his date last Friday. She appeared smug next, when she realized it was a woman that Dan had said didn't mean as much as to him as she did. Finally, pain washed over her face as she took in the words that had followed the woman's name. Zoe opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Her eyes moistened and she broke her gaze with Dan hoping he didn't see the early tears.

"Zoe?" his tone relayed his shock from her final reaction.

"Don't," she warned shakily, raising a hand to stop him. She didn't want his pity.

He quickly forgot all the anger he had from a moment ago. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and make her feel better. He slid off of the planter with the intention of walking in front of her position on it. "Zoe…" he began again as he started to move closer, but he was cut off by the loud shrill sound of the bell. That was enough to knock him out of his initial comforting response. _'I'm not playing into that anymore,'_ he reminded himself. _'I'm not going to go running back and forgive her because she's suddenly jealous.'_ Dan felt his resolve return. _'She only cares because she won't have me as her willing slave anymore!'_ He knew that he was being slightly melodramatic but it helped him focus on his vow to get over her. It was easier to stop loving someone when they were selfish and mean. With his goals in check again, he took a step back. He opened his mouth to speak again, not sure what would spill out, when he heard a delighted shout from the doors of the school.

"Mr. Lennox!" Hannah ran and crashed into him.

"Hey!" Dan smiled down at the little girl and hugged her to his side.

"I didn't see you on the weekend!" she exclaimed as she took a step out of his embrace.

"I know. Something came up," he replied vaguely. "How was school?" Switching subjects was always easier with children.

It was a few minutes later before Cliff joined them but Hannah was still regaling Dan with the day's adventures. As he listened to the youngster prattle on, he continually looked over at Zoe. She had masked her emotions as soon as Hannah had come out of the building and was now listening to the stories as well with a large smile on her face. Dan knew it wasn't real, but neither Cliff nor Hannah appeared to notice. The four climbed into Dan's sports car and headed towards their home.


	10. Dinner Plans

"Aren't you coming in Mr. Lennox?" Hannah asked as Dan stopped his car in front of the house but made no move to turn off the engine.

"Sorry squirt," he turned in his seat to face her in the back, "Your aunt and I have to go back to work for a couple of hours."

"Oh," Hannah showed her disappointment. "How about after that? Are you coming for dinner after?" She glanced from Dan to Zoe and back to Dan again.

"Not tonight. I've got some work to do," he tried to be as vague as possible and focused solely on the kids in the back.

"Tomorrow then?" Hannah persisted.

"No, I'm sorry. I, uh, already have dinner, ah, plans." This time he risked a glance at Zoe in the passenger seat. She maintained a polite smile on her face and avoided his eyes. Noticing their odd behaviour Cliff finally decided to step in. He cut Hannah off in the middle of her invite to Thursday dinner.

"C'mon Hannah, leave Mr. Lennox alone. We'll see him again soon." Cliff grabbed a hold of Hannah's backpack and began to tug her out of the car as soon as Zoe slid her seat far enough forward to allow them an escape. As they passed her, Zoe caught Cliff's eye with a grateful smile. She shut the door after them and rolled down the window and beckoned them forward.

"Okay, be good. I'll be home in an hour or two." Zoe leaned out the window slightly and gave each skid a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Bye Aunt Zoe," Cliff said lightly rubbing his forehead, slightly embarrassed about the public display of affection. "Thanks for the ride Mr. Lennox. See you later." Dan opened his mouth to return the farewell but Hannah cut him off.

"But not too much later!" The little girl said with a charming smile, earning a chuckle from Dan.

"See you soon," he replied smiling.

"Bye Aunt Zoe. Love you," she turned her attention back to her aunt.

"Love you both," Zoe replied as the kids retreated to the house. Dan shifted the car to drive and began the trip back to the office.

Zoe knew that if she waited for Dan to initiate the conversation then he would revert to the same place that they had left off. Since Zoe didn't think that she could handle listening to any details about his blossoming love life anymore than she could explain her weird reaction from earlier, she quickly brought up a more comfortable topic.

"It was really nice of you to pick up the kids," she glanced over at him.

Dan did a double-take. He was surprised when Zoe immediately broke the silence voluntarily, and even more surprised that her words were devoid of resentment or sadness. He had assumed that she would still be upset and wouldn't speak to him for a while. In fact, he had been trying to find the best way to breach the subject to find out _why_ she was angry in the first place when she began speaking. It took him a full minute to process and respond.

"It was my pleasure," his puzzled look melted into one that could have been mistaken for pride. It was similar to the expression which Zoe normally adopted when speaking of her nephew and nieces. "I've missed them," his smile momentarily became a shy one.

"It's only been five days since you last saw them…" It was Zoe's turn to be confused. She turned towards him once more so that she could study his reaction. Dan kept his eyes on the road while he spoke.

"I know," he sighed. "It seems silly, since it hadn't even been a week, but I missed them. I guess I was getting used to the daily visits…" he shrugged. Zoe could count the number of times she had seen Dan this open, honest, and serious on one hand. She remembered a conversation with him last year when he explained that he didn't voice sentiments. _"It's not what I do. I don't share my feelings. I don't bare my soul."_ She realized how hard this must be for him and felt a smile split across her face at his obvious affection for her family. "You should know better than anyone how quick and easy it is to love them." Dan finally risked a look at Zoe. He soon mirrored her goofy grin. He was glad that they had opted to ignore their spat for the moment and he absolutely loved that smile she was wearing. _'Loved. E. D. Past tense,'_ he reminded himself quickly.

"Well, they seem just as taken with you," she responded quietly. A tiny bit of sadness crept into her voice as she momentarily wondered if it would end up the way it had with Marcos: him too afraid and hurt to come around anymore and the kids broken hearted from the sudden loss of a male role-model.

"You couldn't keep me away if you tried." Dan's voice broke through her depressing thoughts. When he saw her smile fade with her last statement he took an educated guess at the cause.

"What?" she tried to play dumb.

"You're comparing me to 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', right?" Dan raised his eyebrows and smirked at her. She didn't like her hear Marcos' name anymore and she especially didn't like talking about him with Dan. So, shortly following their break-up, after Dan had babysat Hannah one night during her Harry Potter kick, he began using the nick-name of Lord Voldemort whenever he was referring to Marcos. Zoe giggled lightly at his words and nodded to confirm his suspicions. "Well, I love them," he spoke quickly since he was always uncomfortable when trying to speak frankly about his emotions. "And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He paused to allow Zoe to respond but continued when it became obvious that she wasn't going to offer anything more. _'Enough mush…'_ he thought with his smirk firmly in place. "I figure, as long as I don't propose to you and get shot down, we should be good. I'll stick around," his smirk morphed into his patented charming smile as he stole glances to watch Zoe register his smart-ass remark.

Zoe laughed and swatted his arm. Once her giggles faded she asked, "Do you want to come for dinner after work?" She said it quickly before she had changed her mind. He had been so sweet and honest that she couldn't help but invite him. She knew that it would be a bit awkward when the two of them were driving over to her house, but Hannah clearly really wanted him there. Besides, with the kids there they weren't likely to start into another fight.

"I don't know, Zoe" he began but she interrupted.

"Oh, c'mon! You saw first hand how much Hannah has missed you. How can you possibly say no to that precious face?" Dan laughed.

"I can't see her precious face right now," he knew he'd give in. Even as he was protesting, he could see her pudgy little face in his mind. However, he wasn't going to give in just yet; he was enjoying the comfortable banter that had finally returned between them. "You're the one asking now."

"Well how can you say 'no' to this precious face then?" Zoe put on her best pout: lower lip jutted out with big round eyes obscured with incessant blinking to give the impression that tears weren't far away. She couldn't hold it for very long though, both soon dissolved in light laughter. "Fine. But I know the truth: you have nothing better to do tonight. Your excuse for not coming was work and you told me earlier that you don't have anymore work to do. That was the whole point of our outing today," her tone became victorious.

"I never said what kind of work I was going to do. Maybe I was referring to general repairs to my apartment," he replied smugly. "You know what they say when people assume things…"

"Yes, yes," she waved away his silly joke before he could complete it. "Alright then, what specifically do you have to work on tonight? What cannot possibly wait until tomorrow or the next day?" she folded her arms over her chest and quirked a lone eyebrow.

"I was going to…" Dan trailed off as he tried to think of a reasonable activity. "…try and fix my… microwave?" he finished lamely.

Zoe's smile grew impossibly large. "Well, that can wait! You won't need it for at least two days… you'll be eating with us tonight and you have that thing tomorrow…" With a lot of effort Zoe was able to keep both her tone and facial expression neutral when she mentioned his plans with Stephanie, not that Dan felt brave enough to look over to see her expression anyway.

"I need it for my breakfast burrito!" He exclaimed eager to avoid the sore subject.

"Eww, Dan. Maybe you should leave it broken…" her face scrunched up in disgust. Dan looked over at her and laughed. Both were relieved that they skipped over the subject so quickly. They spent the last few minutes of the drive arguing over the nutritional value, or lack-there-of, of the standard breakfast burrito.

"So?" Zoe asked as Dan parked his car in his reserved spot.

Dan and Zoe exited the vehicle and strolled towards the building. "Fine," he relented as he held the door open for her, tucking his free hand into his pocket to resist temptation. "I'll toss the rest of my burritos."

"No – well, yes, that too – but I meant dinner. Want to come over after work?"

He had mulled over the answer for the entire car ride. He decided that if she was inviting him over, then she must want to talk to him and resolve whatever it was that was going on between them lately. Plus, if nothing else, he wanted to see the kids again. "Sure," he replied finally. He swallowed a smile that he realized was as much for the thought of being with Zoe as it was for the kids. _'Hmm… maybe I shouldn't have accepted just yet…'_ he thought belatedly.

As they stepped into the elevator, conveniently the same on that they had shared their first non-work-related kiss, both felt their autonomic response system kick into gear. They were alone in the elevator and without the distraction of driving to sidetrack one of them, they felt the tension hanging thick in the air. Zoe wondered if Dan was thinking about their first real kiss too.

Dan cleared his throat and decided to follow Zoe's lead and ignore the proverbial elephant in the room for now. _'After all, now I have all night to talk to her. I'll do it once the kids go off to bed,'_ he thought resolutely. "So what are you going to do now?" he shattered the silent spell.

"Huh?" Zoe was caught off-guard and for a moment her preoccupied mind thought that he was asking if she was going to follow through with the un-professional, more-than-friendly feelings swimming through her brain.

"Do you have any work left to do? I don't even have any more reports left to fill in…" he clarified. He leaned against the wall opposite Zoe so that he could face her with enough distance that it wouldn't fuel the dangerous chemistry between them.

"Oh, yeah, I still have some paperwork. You want some?" she asked hopefully. He laughed and shook his head at the ridiculous offer. "Well, what are you going to do then?"

"Well I've been really into Spider Solitaire lately…" he trailed off with a crooked smile.


	11. A Night With The Family

"Maybe you should call it a night. What do you think, squirt?" Dan asked, smiling while fondly looking down at the girl curled up beside him as she tried unsuccessfully to squash another yawn.

"No. I'm not tired yet," she replied unconvincingly as she snuggled closer to him.

Dan chuckled quietly. "Are you sure? 'Cause I've heard at least five yawns in the last three minutes…" he tailed off. She turned to him with large puppy-dog eyes.

"Just a little bit longer?" she pleaded.

"Fine," Dan quickly gave in to the adorable child, "But only a few more minutes." Hannah beamed at him and turned her attention back to the television, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. _'I'm such a sucker,'_ he mused, smiling softly in spite of himself.

Not more than two minutes later a soft snoring sound tore Dan's attention away from the glow of the TV set. He leaned back slightly and shifted his head so that he could look into the youngster's face. A goofy grin overtook his face as he took in the sight of Hannah sleeping. He had never seen anything more angelic.

Just then Zoe came strolling into the room carrying a bowl of popcorn from the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks as she saw the scene on the couch. Before she could stop herself she let out a sound that was a mix of content and awe as her free hand absently made its way to her chest overtop of her heart. Dan looked up and smiled sheepishly as he saw her admiring them. There was a brief beat of silence as the pair just considered each other. Realizing what he was doing, Dan snapped his eyes away. "I, uh, I'll just take her to bed then," he replied quietly. He shifted slightly and then scooped the child up in his arms gently. He began moving towards the stairs.

"I'll come too," Zoe offered quickly, and then quickly added, "I always tuck her in when I'm home…" Dan just nodded and continued his way to her room, climbing the stairs extra carefully.

Zoe stood a few feet back as Dan set Hannah down in her bed. He had perfect fatherly technique: setting her bum and feet down first and then slowly lowering her upper half. He paid special attention to her head, placing it lovingly on her pillow. In a moment of weakness, he let himself reach out and brush the strands of hair out of the way of her pudgy little face. At his tender touch, Hannah's eyes opened into tiny slits. She smiled lazily, "G'night Mr. Lennox." Zoe felt her heart melt. She couldn't believe how flawlessly he fit into her new family. She had been observing him all night and the ease he had with the kids. It had only strengthened her resolve to talk to him tonight and get everything out in the open.

"Good night, squirt. I'll see you later," he whispered back. He turned around and with a final feeble at Zoe, slipped out of the room and headed back towards the family room so that Zoe could say good night.

Taylor passed Dan on the stairway as she was headed up to her room. "That's all for me," she told him groggily. "I can't believe I'm going to bed at the same time as my baby sister…" she grumbled slightly and paused as they met each other in the middle of the staircase.

"Don't sweat it; she beat out Cliff too," Dan reminded with a laugh.

"Only because he has that tournament tomorrow," she countered.

"She still beat him," he replied smirking.

"I suppose. Well, good night Mr. Lennox. And thanks for your help tonight," Taylor stood on her tiptoes and planted a sweet kiss on Dan's cheek.

"My pleasure," he replied blushing slightly at the unexpected affection. "Good night, Taylor." They both continued their separate ways.

Dan made his way over to the couch and flopped lazily upon it. It had been a very full and very tiring night. He reached forwards, unable to resist the wonderful buttery smell of the popcorn sitting on the coffee-table.

When he had first arrived home with Zoe, she immediately headed towards the kitchen, relieving Taylor of cooking duty. Taylor had used the opportunity to pick Dan's brain on a few subjects. First, she had lured him into the adjacent room to help her finish up her art project. That was easy enough, given Dan's extensive background in art. However the subject quickly transitioned into matters of the heart.

It seems that Taylor had her eye on a new guy and wanted some advice. Dan had tried to weasel his way out of it; he didn't want to help her get dates… he was feeling overprotective and wanted to discourage them until she was at least twenty-one. He suggested talking to her Aunt Zoe instead, but she insisted that she need to get into the male psyche and so he was a better candidate. He reluctantly agreed and gave her a few vague hints on how to get her guy's attention without being too overt. By the time they were finished with their heart-to-heart, so was dinner.

The meal wasn't exactly four-star quality, but it was one of the best casseroles that Zoe had ever made. Each member at the table made sure to compliment her several times throughout the meal. Supper didn't seem to last very long with idle school gossip passing the time and conversation along swiftly.

When everyone was finished eating, Hannah and Taylor cleared the dishes away; Cliff had done it the night before. Zoe and the two men made their way into the family room and flicked on the television. The guys became temporarily distracted by a basketball game, which somehow led to them playing a game of pick-up outside. The pair played until dusk when it became to difficult to distinguish the distance to the net.

Cliff returned to the house grinning broadly and talking boastfully after he successfully destroyed any pride Dan had left in his basketball skills. Cliff worked for an hour or so on some homework and then turned in for the night so that he could be well rested for the next day; Dan had immediately collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. That was when Hannah had hopped up next to him and started her quality time with him. She had the most time out of the trio; they sat there watching cartoon after cartoon after cartoon for at least two hours before she had fallen asleep.

"Earth to Dan," Zoe waved a hand in front of him, snapping him back to the present. She beamed proudly that she had managed to startle him.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" he shifted his attention to her.

"I said, thanks for saving me some popcorn," she teased. Dan glanced down to his lap and saw only kernels sitting in the bowl. She reached over and placed the bowl on the coffee-table he had taken it from earlier. He looked slightly embarrassed as he apologized once more. "I was kidding; I didn't really want it anyway," she patted his legs absent-mindedly. "Shift," she commanded sweetly. He automatically lifted his legs off the cushions to his right so that he wasn't hogging the entire couch. "So… I was thinking… that, uh, we should probably, uh, talk…" suddenly words weren't her strong suit. "What do you think?" she asked as she plopped down cross-legged next to him, turning so that she was facing him with only a sliver of space between them.

"Uh, yeah," he cleared his throat nervously. "I think so too." He shifted so that he was positioned with his back in the corner of the couch. He had one arm draped over the back of the couch, extending in her direction and propped his feet up on the table in front of them. He was on an angle to her so that he could easily look at her but so that they wouldn't be stuck staring at each other. "Why don't you go first?" he offered generously.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I'm gonna finish this soon. On a side note: I just found out last week that Wildcard isn't going to be back for a third season. _Sniff_. For any of you who are ahead of me in episodes (my station's at that Russian bridecase), does the final episode in season two provide any closure? Feel free to spoil it if Dan and Zoe do end up together... 


	12. Confessing

"Okay…" Zoe cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. As she began speaking she looked absently around the room; desperately searching for something to give her courage or inspiration. "Iuhwell you…with the… so I…" Her eyes finally found Dan's. He was studying her quizzically. She realized that she was going to have to suck it up and be ridiculously straight forward if she wanted to escape this conversation with her sanity unquestioned. She squeezed her eyes shut and hit her fist against the cushion beside her in frustration. "God, why is this so hard! At any given moment I can spout out at least three hours worth of Vegas stories in sickly sweet detail and now that I have something that I _legitimately_ _need_ to say… nothing! Words and I are apparently at a war! At the moment, I wouldn't be able to talk myself out of… uh… well, this sentence! I can't even think of a suitable comparison!" Zoe ranted miserably.

"Zoe!" Dan silenced her with a hand over her fist, which she had kept swinging at the defenceless cushion. He felt a zap of electricity shoot from the point of contact and make its way down his spine. He retracted his hand quickly as if it had been burned. He tried to lighten the mood and put her at ease. "First off, I think maybe you're being a little unfair to the cushion… I promise that killing the couch will not make the words flow any easier," he chuckled at his own joke. Zoe smiled politely but didn't laugh so Dan moved on quickly. "Hey, it's just me; you can tell me anything. No worries. Just calm down and spit it out." His mind was racing. Dan's hands became clammy with anticipation about what she would reveal; weather it was from fear or excitement he couldn't decide.

"Right. So, here's the thing…" Zoe clasped her hands together and folded them in her lap in a show of composure, once more hoping that appearances would equal truth. She quietly cleared her throat, steeled her nerves, looked boldly into Dan's eyes, and launched into her new speech one which she decided would be best to make up on the spot and straight from the heart. "We've worked together for two years now…" Dan rolled his eyes, "Hey! My speech, my opening!" she commanded. Dan gave an apologetic wince and motioned for her to continue. "Thank you. So, two years. And everyday for two years I have been at war. Not with words this time, but with myself. See I made a promise a long time ago, after an … incident … with Jimmy Kyzers at the Lizard Lounge in Vegas long story that I would never again become intimately involved with a co-worker…" Zoe lost some steam at the last point as she waited for a reaction from the man sitting beside her, now that there was no doubt where her little speech was headed. Dan shut his eyes and clenched his jaw and Zoe decided to continue on. "As a personal rule you were always off limits. It's too hard, mixing business with pleasure; it confuses roles and creates awkward situations, especially when it doesn't last... But somehow, in spite of my policy, my relationship with you quickly became more than just work-related. You became one of my best friends, even more so when Marcos and Sophia left. And it took me a long time to admit it to myself and even longer, specifically until this very moment, to say it out loud but you've become a lot more to me than just a friend. Even more than a best friend. And I think you have been for a long time now. I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it, but I know it now. I'm ready. I want to explore this thing between us. I know I've got lousy timing and I know that I don't deserve it, but if you're willing, I want to try."

Obviously Zoe was nervous about vocalizing her feelings for Dan, but in the back of her mind she was certain that she had nothing to worry about; if there had any real uncertainty about the way that her feelings would be received she wouldn't have spoken up. However, Dan had always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve around her. His actions alone hinted to any bystanders how he felt: he constantly flirted with her, he always went out of his way to do her favours, he had that certain tone whenever he said her name, and he had asked her out for drinks or coffee or dinner more times than she could count… and that's not even mentioning the confession/kiss on the elevator. However, even if she didn't have all of that to back her up, if all of that could be dismissed as old-fashioned charm, or in the case of the elevator a mere moment of lust, she could still gain confidence from his eyes. His eyes were the one thing that he couldn't mask, even with all his experience acting in roles he couldn't hide the raw emotions present whenever he looked at her. However, as she considered this, she became acutely aware of the fact that it was a very different raw emotion that was emanating from his eyes at the moment: agony. "Da?" Zoe started to question but he cut her off.

He raised a hand in a firm to stop her. "No," he said simply, rising to his feet to add some more distance between them. "You can't do this."

"Can't do? Dan, I thought this is what you want…" her voice faltered.

"It was! It was for the last two years!" he admitted in frustration. He let out a sigh and began to pace in front of her. After a few calming breaths he started again but in a more composed tone. "You weren't fighting yourself, Zoe, you were fighting me. And you won. Every day. But now that I've finally found someone else, you decide that it's time to give me a chance? Why are you doing this? Why now?"

"I know my timing sucks. I'm sorry, I justHearing about you and the other woman…" Zoe trailed off unsteadily, "Well, it made me see how much I rely on you always being there when I need you. Then I realized that you won't always be there; eventually you'd be with someone else, maybe this woman. And I couldn't stand the thought of that"

Dan cut her off sharply, "Is that it?" His brow furrowed and his voice cracked slightly with emotion. "Jealousy? You're upset that I'm not going to be at your beck-and-call forever so you decide to ruin my new relationship so I'll have no one else to wait on? Here I thought that maybe you finally wanted me for more my service. I can't believe how stupid I am!"

"I do want you!" she protested standing up and striding towards him.

"It's too late," he turned away and began towards the door. Zoe quickly grabbed his forearm to stop him and positioned herself between him and the exit. Two sets of eyes met, each owner feeling responsible for the pain reflected in the other.

"Please," she pleaded, her eyes watering despite her. "Just give me one more chance. Please. What is there left to lose?"

"Me," he replied in a small voice. "Every time you won every day for two years I lost. Every day I went home with my heart a little more cracked than the day before, every day hoping that I would win the next round. Then last Friday, for a few brief moments, you seemed to fix it when your lips met mine." A silent tear slipped out of the corner of Zoe's eye as she heard the ache in his quiet voice. "And then not five minutes later, with the aid of one very quick slam of my front door, it finally fell apart." Zoe started quietly at the man before her, astounded once more by how much he was revealing. For his part, Dan suddenly became very embarrassed and felt very exposed. He didn't really understand it, but whenever she was around he suddenly had the urge to open up and tell her everything. '_I can't believe I just told her that,'_ he thought as a flush crept up his neck, blanketed his cheeks and coloured the tips of his ears."I have to go."

"No," she pleaded again. "Dan, please." He paused once more when she grabbed his left hand as he tried to brush past her, their backs turned to each other. She awkwardly grasped the outer edge, her palm resting on the back of his soft hand with her thumb downwards and her other four fingers curling around into his palm. She whirled gracefully and brought her right hand around to strengthen her hold on him. Both stared at the door, Dan one step ahead of Zoe.

"I'm sorry. I can't do it," he whispered. _'Well, I've already gone this far, I might as well explain the rest to her_._' _ He swallowed thickly and reached over with his right hand to gently free his left hand without turning to face her. "I was reduced to rubble from just a kiss. We can't start this until you're absolutely sure where you stand and you admitted yourself that this is all new to you. I don't need to 'explore this thing between us' because I already know what it is from my point of view. Exploring, trying, and wanting isn't enough anymore; I'm too invested. I would need you to be committed from the start and I know that that's not fair, but I _need_ it. So, I have to walk away now because if it didn't work out…" he considered her briefly over his shoulder, "I wouldn't be able to go back to life without you if I ever had you. Goodnight Zoe."


	13. Answering Machine

A/N: Hey, sorry about the CSI thing… but I had that one written and was just adding them on the site quickly… this one I'm writing as I go along. But now since I'm changing the CSI one, I will spend equal time updating. Thanks for sticking with me and for the awesome reviews.

* * *

The next morning, just before Dan reached his car, his cell phone went off. He reached down to check out the caller ID and felt his heart quicken. Zoe. He stood there staring at the name and picture of the woman flashing across the screen. Finally, after three rings more than necessary, he cleared his throat and picked up the call. "Hey," his voice came out soft and smoothly.

"Hey, Dan, I was just calling to let you know that you don't have to pick me up this morning…" her voice trailed at the end. Since they had temporarily gotten over the awkwardness, they had decided to resume their car-pooling. Evidently the separate cars were going come back for at least a little while.

"Oh, okay," the disappointment couldn't be held back at what a mess their relationship had become in less than a week. "I guess I'll, uh, see you when I get to work…" he trailed off sadly.

Zoe cleared her throat, "Um… actually, I'm not coming in today…"

"Zoe--" The one word sounded like a lecture so she didn't let him continue.

"…yeah, I'm not feeling that great so I'm taking a sick day," she paused and let out a sniffle. "So… not today. But I'll probably see you tomorrow; hopefully I'll be feeling better by then. Bye, Dan." She hung up before she got to hear his response. It was pretty lame to use the sniffle to pretend she was sick but she didn't feel like receiving his pity. And technically she hadn't lied to him, she wasn't feeling great… but that sniffle had more to do with the recent tears she had shed than it did a physical illness.

Back in the parking lot at his apartment complex, Dan leaned against his car for support. He folding one arm along the edge of the roof just above the driver's door and rested his head on top so that his face was hidden and he could block out the world at large. He absently fumbled with the cell phone, returning it blindly to his jacket pocket. "Damn it all," Dan cursed quietly. He smacked his head once on his arms and then backed up. There was no use standing there in the middle of the parking-lot moping about his shattered friendship. He got into the car and headed to work, replaying her words in his head: "I'll _probably_ see you tomorrow." _'Maybe I shouldn't have gone to dinner…'_

He went through the motions all morning, trying to stay on top of what little he had to do around the office. There was no new break in the case he and Zoe were working on, and virtually all of the paperwork was finished. Around lunch time M walked into his office and told him to "shape up or ship out!" He had been working on the same write-up all morning long. When she had discovered this, before her clichéd ultimatum, she had launched into a lecture about professionalism and how she wasn't paying him to daydream, blah blah blah... Seeing as he didn't have much to do and he wasn't accomplishing it anyway, he opted to ship out. However he was torn between destinations: he could go home and clean up the apartment a bit since he had plenty of time before he had to meet Stephanie, or he could go to Zoe's place and clean up their relationship. Both were very good options, but in the end he decided that physical cleaning was the best way to go; Zoe clearly didn't want to see him just yet and Dan knew that if he went over there and spent the rest of the day with her he'd fall right back into their vicious game.

So he went home and cleaned. And cleaned. And then cleaned some more. Three hours and five trash bags later, he had finally run out of things to do. His hands itched to pick up the phone and dial Zoe's number or grab the keys off the hook and speed to her house, but he restrained himself. At first he tried to kill some time with television but he couldn't find anything to hold his interest. There was a show that he had started to get into, but then he found out it was set in Vegas and it made him think of Zoe. There was a cooking show and his mind drifted to the audition tape Zoe made last year. There was a few reality shows and he thought of Backstabbed, and consequently Zoe. Even basketball was linked back to her; all he could think about during free throws was how her hips would sway if she had taken the shot. Even soap operas led to Zoe… that one he couldn't really explain, except that its lack of Zoe-related material made it relate back to Zoe. He just couldn't win.

So he turned off his television. 3:47pm. He had a little less than four hours until his date. A quick scan of his apartment found nothing to entertain him so he decided to catch some sleep; after all, thoughts about a certain fiery red-head had kept him up half the night. Dan set his alarm to go off at 6:45, he would have just enough time to shower and shave before heading to pick up Stephanie, but not enough time to be tempted to show up at Zoe's door. He striped to his boxers and undershirt and crawled under the covers and fell asleep within minutes.

By the time 4:30 rolled around Dan was sound asleep and didn't hear the phone ringing. His answering machine picked up on the fifth ring and the very voice he was avoiding flooded his apartment. "I know that you're at work right now and you probably won't even have time to check this before your d-- before you go out tonight… but I finally figured out what I want to say to you, and I couldn't very well phone you at work for _this_, and I had to do it before I changed my mind…" Her voice sounded sharp and annoyed. "I have sat here all day, replaying what happened and what was said last night, and I've decided that you are the world's biggest ass! Yes! You big ass!" Zoe paused as she tried to calm herself down; if all that she did was insult him he'd probably just erase the message. A large sigh escaped her lips and she softened her tone. "I can't get you off my mind, no matter what I do, and I think that means that you're probably supposed to be there. So, I spent a good majority of my morning crying and I hated it. Every tear was one more nagging reminder that I couldn't have you and that I wouldn't get over it. And it's not because I'm jealous -- which, okay, I am -- it's because despite my rules, despite my defences, despite myself… I have fallen for you. That's what you wouldn't hear last night.

"You said that you were too invested. Well, I'm invested too! I love you! But to me, the possibility of this working is worth putting my heart on the line for. You've acted for years that it was that important to you too; now its time to prove it. I'm committed. I'm willing to risk anything we have so that we can have everything! And if this is the real deal, then you'll realize, too, that it really is worth fighting for. So from this point on, if nothing happens between us, you can't blame it on me anymore. If we remain colleagues and friends, and nothing more, it won't be because I don't love you; it'll because you aren't as certain of what this is as you think you are… that's all, I guess.

"I'd say to have fun tonight, but I don't want you to. I want you to be miserable that it isn't me and end up in that bar again… so… goodnight Dan... Oh, and if I don't talk to you before tomorrow, it's a pretty safe bet that I won't be in to work again…" She decided that that was a good place to end, and was about to hang up when she realized she forgot something, "This is Zoe, by the way." Then with a faint click, Dan's home was filled with silence once more.


	14. Message Received

Dan whipped his head back and to the side, letting out a long breath as he strolled through the doors. The smell of stale smoke, body odour and alcohol tickled his olfactory senses. The smog floating through the air, which was causing his eyes to water, became a visible shimmering grey as the light from the street lamps filtered into the dimly lit bar. He stepped to the side and rubbed his eyes, adjusting them to the atmosphere as the doors closed and reduced the bar once again to semi-darkness. _'I didn't like it here the first time; why the hell did I come back?'_ Dan cursed as he ambled his way towards the crowded bar, trying to ignore the faint ripping sound that came every time he lifted his show off the sticky floor.

Of course, he knew why he ended up here again: Zoe's message. He had gotten up when planned and immediately took a shower. When he got out he only had about ten minutes before he had to leave to pick Stephanie up, most of which was spent deciding what to wear. Dan had grabbed the keys and was about to go out the door when he caught sight of the blinking light on his answering machine; a quick glance at his watch showed that he still had a couple of minutes so he hit the play button. He sat down on the couch stunned for a few minutes after hearing the message, trying to figure out what to do. The only thing that he wanted to do was run right over to Zoe's house and … well, you can probably guess.

However, he had a date. He forced himself out of the apartment, went to pick up Stephanie and took her to the restaurant in a daze. Dan had tried his best to focus on Stephanie and what she was saying, but the only thing that kept cycling through his head were Zoe's words: "I love you! But to me, the possibility of this working is worth putting my heart on the line for." Needless to say, the date wasn't going very well. In fact, it was probably the shortest date Dan had ever been on; they didn't even make it past the appetizers before Dan admitted he couldn't go through with it again. So he had driven her home, apologizing profusely -- which she accepted remarkably well -- and did exactly what Zoe said she wanted him to do: go back to the bar and be miserable without her.

He took a seat on the bar stool and waited patiently for the bartender to work his way over. "Two shots of whiskey," he shouted over the din. The barkeep nodded and quickly placed the drinks in front of Dan, pausing only long enough to claim the money Dan had fished from his pockets. He downed the first one quickly, tensing his neck and clicking his tongue at the faint burn the liquid left in his throat. He spun the other shot on the tabletop. After a minute of consideration, he downed that one. He leaned over the bar trying to figure out where that pesky bartender had wandered to; Dan spotted the man down at the other end of the bar, dealing with at least twelve other guys.

Sighing and sitting back on his stool, Dan reached to his belt and retrieved his cell phone. He flipped it open and pressed number one on his speed dial. Zoe's picture popped up on his screen and he pressed the phone to his ear, listening to it ring twice before her melodic voice interrupted the noise, "Hello?"

"Hey, Zoe!" Dan yelled over the noise around him.

"Dan?" she yelled back as if she hadn't seen his name appear on her caller ID.

"Yea!" He stood up from the bar and began to make his way to a quieter section of the bar so that he could hear her better. "I got your message!"

Zoe glanced smugly at her watch and stood up, looking around casually. "Do you check your phone messages in the middle of all your dates?"

He had worked his way to the hall leading to the restrooms where it was considerably quieter. The door that blocked the hall from the main bar was almost completely sound-proof. "You know as well as I do that I'm not on my date anymore," he sounded annoyed, using his normal tone again.

"What?" Zoe shouted into the phone. She began walking around a crowd of people towards her new destination.

"I'm not on my date!" he repeated loudly without a second thought to the silence around him.

"Why not?" someone banged into her and she dropped her phone to the floor.

"I got your message!" Dan replied again. Unfortunately Zoe didn't hear it because she was struggling to find enough room to squat down to retrieve her cell from the dirty, sticky floor. When Zoe had finally picked up the cell phone she held it a few inches from her ear, afraid that some of the unknown substances from the floor might have attached themselves to her phone.

"You're gonna have to speak up Dan, I can barely hear you!"

He glanced around puzzled. The only noise was coming from the cut-off main room, and it was too faint for a cell phone to pick up. "Wait! Where are you?" he demanded into the phone, finally realizing that her end was just as rowdy as his had been. His immediate response was the click of the phone, signalling her end had been cut off. He flipped his phone shut and pushed his back against the wall, intending to wait for her to call him back. Dan slid to the floor, wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his head. He ignored the visible grim on the floor and disorderly racket the flooded the hallway again as the door to the main bar swung open and shut quickly.

"Behind you," Zoe's sweet voice invading the renewed silence made his head shoot up sharply, smacking the back of his head against the wall.

Dan cursed silently and raised his right hand to rub the fresh injury as Zoe approached from his left. Her heels made a muffled click. "What are you doing here?" he asked, clearly puzzled, as she reached down and grabbed his left arm and attempted pull him to his feet again. He resisted and just stared up at her for a minute; she was wearing a long plain trench coat but her hair and make-up was flawless.

"Trying to pick you up," she replied with a smirk and a wink. He chuckled and allowed her to help him up. "I heard you didn't go home alone last time you were here… I thought I'd see if I could test my luck," she continued as he got to his feet and released his arm.

"Oh yea?" he replied with a cheesy grin. He slid the arm she had just let go carefully around her waist, pulling her slightly closer. Her right hand slid up his left arm to rest on his bicep while her other hand reached up to play with the knot of his tie, loosening it slightly.

"Yeah," she mirrored his grin. He dropped his hand from the back of his head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears gently. He let his fingers linger there for a minute. "What're you doing?" she returned the question playfully.

"Testing my luck," he cupped the side of her face and dipped his head towards her. As his lips slid slowly and deliberately across hers, she stepped closer and pulled him into a tighter embrace. The hand that had been playing with his tie slipped underneath his right arm and splayed out across his back, while the other hand drifted to the back of his head to play with the hair at the nape of his neck while effectively holding his face to hers… not that he was planning on pulling away anytime soon.

Dan traced her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, seeking permission to deepen the kiss which she readily granted. They took their time, exploring their partner's mouth; both reaching an unspoken agreement in favour of lingering, loving exchanges rather than frenzied and lustful ones. After all, with the verbal confirmations earlier, they had a all the time in the world… so why rush? Neither knew how long they stood there exchanging passionate, slow, wet kisses before a particularly gruff fellow barged through the door from the bar. The dirty man, who brought some of the bar's lovely stench with him, reminded the pair of their surroundings. A stingy, out-of-the-way bar was not exactly romantic. "What do you say to a change in scenery?" Dan whispered huskily in her ear.

"I don't know if we can find anywhere classier than this place," she teased before she stole one more kiss and took a step back.

"Well let's try anyway," Dan reached over and took Zoe's hand and laced their fingers together. Together they walked out of the bar into the cool night air and towards Dan's car, goofy grins stretched across their faces.


End file.
